Wonderful You – Perfect Picture Book Friday

In a faraway land lived a lady in bluewith a babe in her tummy named Wonderful You

Synopsis:

This rhyming picture book illuminates the role of an adopted child’s birth mother, respecting her choice to give her child to a loving family. We follow a mother’s journey as she carries her child, searches for deserving parents, and ultimately creates a new family.

Why I like this Book:

I really like the focus on the birth mother. What a wonderful tribute to moms of all ages who have for so many reasons given their children up for adoption. The story offers a version of the adoption process that is full of warmth, care, and choice.

The choice of calling the adopted child Wonderful You throughout the poem works very well and helps focus the choice of birth mother and adopting parents on the child.

Above all, the illustrations are bright, whimsical and stunning watercolors.

Resources/Activities:

This would make a great gift for adoptive parents for sure, but also, it is important to share stories in classrooms of all types of families from a very early age to create acceptance for the rich mosaic of family structures in our world.

I would pair this with The Wish by Matthew Cordell, an adoption tale with a different focus.

8 Responses to Wonderful You – Perfect Picture Book Friday

Definitely will be on the look-out for this one! In my day, the adoption book of choice was The Chosen Baby. I can’t recall anything about the birth mother in that one. It did, however, focus on the child and the love shared by the new family. I always wondered about the birth mother, especially as I wasn’t adopted until I was 7 months old.

Joanna Marple

In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.